Recently I have been busy testing out different crochet patterns and making different crochet items. On top of that, I’ve been practicing scissoring for my pet grooming. Something unfortunate happened. My wrist, my whole arm, shoulders and even lower back are all hurting. There is no choice for me but to put everything aside and take a break from all my crochet stuff. I don’t enjoy just sitting around so I was thinking, why not share my tips on avoiding and relieving shoulder and wrist pain? (guess I’m not resting my wrist and arm properly haha) To become good at crochet, we of course need to practice with different crochet skills, but learning about how to cope with problems caused by crocheting is equally important.
*Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, physician or other health care professional. The information in this post is for educational and informational purposes and is not intended as professional or medical advice in any way. Reliance on any information provided on this site is solely at your own risk. Please consult a doctor, physician or other health care professional for advice on your unique situation.
Why do you have wrist pain during crochet?
1. You did not take a break
When I crochet, I just couldn’t stop! Crochet involves repetitive motions and some projects (e.g. making a cardigan) can take dozens of hours to finish. Crocheting for a prolonged period of time will put strain on your wrist, arm and shoulders thus causing injuries on muscles and tendons.
2. The way you hold your hook
Pay attention to the way you hold your crochet hook. Are you holding it properly? Are you putting too much pressure on your yarn and hook? Keep on reading as I’ll show you how to hold your hook in a way that is less likely to cause wrist pain.
3. Bad Posture
A lot of time when I crochet, I never realise how long I’ve been sitting. Too much sitting is harmful. When we are sitting, we can’t help but relax and forget to maintain our posture. Incorrect posture like hunch shoulders and poking your chin forward, can cause overuse of muscles and shoulder pain. In spite of this, overuse of your wrist during crochet can lead pain in our arm and shoulder because our wrist and shoulder are connected.
8 Ways to Avoid and Relieve Pain When Crocheting
Prevention is always better than cure. Even after we recover from injuries, old injuries can keep flaring up. Let me show you how I avoid shoulder and wrist pain caused by crochet. Later I’ll also talk about how I relieve pain.
1. Start with small projects
If you’re a crochet beginner, start with projects that are easy and less time-consuming, such as flowers, hair accessories and coaster. Once you manage how to control the amount of force you apply to your hook and your muscles start to get used to the motion of crochet (yeah it takes time), you can make bigger items such as bags, mat and clothes.
I have some crochet beginner tutorials that are good for you to start with. Feel free to check out!
How to crochet puff flower (Video tutorial + Step-by-step)
Crochet heart (mini) tutorial & free pattern! 1cm only
Crochet Flower FREE PATTERN | Easy Crochet Tutorial (Video)
2. Change the way you hold crochet hook
Everyone holds crochet hook in their own way, just like when we hold pencils. It doesn’t mean some ways are right and some are wrong, but some will definitely allow your wrist to move more flexibly or too flexibly. And if you do it for dozens of hours, you will surely get hurt especially for those who haven’t managed how to control the amount of force when crocheting.
I used to hold my crochet hook like the picture in the left. Although it helps me crochet faster, I start to realise my wrist starts to hurt and I’m overusing my wrist. Then I switched to the method on the right! By holding your hook like it, you use your arm more and your wrist less. And I suffer from pain less since then. Why not try it out?
3. Change your crochet hook
Metal hook is always my go-to crochet hook yet it has its pros and cons. Although it’s cheap and light-weighted, our hands might find it too fine and tough to grab. You can just imagine how much stress is put on your hands when you are holding something fine for a long time, right? You should change your hooks if your hook is no match for you.
A lot of crocheters recommend ergonomic hooks since these hooks give you fatigue-free crochet experience. They are designed to be easy to hold and feel natural in the hand, usually with thick handles. They can be made of different materials such as wood, bamboo and metal hook with rubber handle.
4. Do not crochet on your bed
I know bed is a comfy place and it sounds great to crochet your blanket while snuggling up with your duvet. Unfortunately, your bed is not really a good place to work on crochet projects. First of all, most mattresses are too soft for your to keep up with good sitting posture. Also, it’s difficult to avoid hunching over while crocheting even if you have a bed desk. Every time I crochet on bed, it doesn’t take long for me to feel the pain on my shoulders and lower back. I strongly recommend you to work on a proper desk and chair. If you have limited space at home and have no choice but to crochet on bed, make sure you always pay attention to your sitting posture and get up to walk around and stretch your body from time to time.
5. Stretches & exercises
I stretch my wrist gently almost every time after I finish crochet. Stretches can help relax your muscles to lower the chance of getting injured. You can also exercise regularly to strengthen your core and back muscle in order to maintain good posture. I want to recommend you the following wrist stretch and easy exercise videos that have helped me with improving my shoulder and wrist pain caused by crochet. It’s not in English but they are effective and easy to follow.
Stretches for wrist pain (Dr. Joe Wong) ⬇️
Easy workout and stretches to improve hunchback & posture (周六野Zoey)⬇️
6. Take a break
When your wrist starts to hurt, you should immediately put your hook down and take a break. I mean a few days off. I have tried short breaks but it only works when your wrist hasn’t started to hurt and you use it as a preventative measure. If you refuse to stop and rest, you pain will only become more severe and it might spread to your arm and shoulder. I have those experiences, eventually my fingers and arm started to feel numb even when I’m doing my daily life things. One time, I took a 3-day break but the pain came back right away when I started to crochet again. I had to took another week off crocheting but the pain still didn’t go.
If you really can’t stop doing it for several days, you can set up your own crochet timetable. For example, you can take a ten-minute break every half an hour or have one day-off in a week where you won’t do any crochet. It’s more a preventative measure and works slower in terms of improving pain that already exists, but it’s always better than not having any rest! One thing we should remember: we shouldn’t risk injuries because we love crochet so much. If it becomes serious and chronic, we might not be able to crochet one day.
7. Try wrist brace/stress relief gloves
Wrist brace holds your wrist in a neutral position. It reduces the strain on the tendons and limits your wrist movement. Therefore it helps alleviate wrist pain from repetitive movement and recover from injury. I usually use the most basic elastic wrist support bandage because it only slightly limits wrist movement and does not affect my daily life much. I usually start to wear it when my wrist feels weird (before it’s getting painful) which stops the problem from becoming more serious.
Remember to follow the instructions. A lot of them do not recommend you to wear it for a long time. Please consult your doctor if you are not sure if it’s suitable for your situation.
8. Relieve pain with heat
It’s controversial whether we should use ice or heat to relieve pain. According to Mayo Clinic, ice is more helpful with a sudden injury to a tendon while heat is more helpful with chronic tendon pain caused by repetitive motions. Heat increases blood flow thus promote healing of the tendon. It also helps relax muscles and relieve pain.
I use heat to relieve wrist pain and always go for the most traditional way, hot water bottle. Even if I only suffer from wrist pain, I apply heat to my wrist, arm and the front and back of shoulders. Our shoulder and wrist are connected so having strain on either of them will have effect on the other as well. Make sure you don’t put heat on for too long.
I wish these tips are helpful for you and hope you will get well soon. If your wrist pain is persisting, do not hesitate to consult a doctor.
If you want to find out more about my craft, follow my Instagram: Kamui by Karen.
Happy crocheting!
More Crochet Beginner Tutorial:
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